January 27, 2009 in coffee club | Comments (0)
Tags: acidity, artisan coffee roasting, beef barley soup, bespoke, bespoke coffee, bespoke coffee for the curious palate, bespoke coffee roaster, bespoke service, blackburn estate, blackburn estate coffee, cherry jam, coffee, coffee blog, coffee cupping philadelphia, coffee roaster, coffee roasting, coffee sommelier, coffee tasting, coffee tasting parties, coffee tasting philadelphia, cold winter, curious palate, currants, custom roasting, dc, finish, hostess gift, hostess gifts, kevin lawrence, koo zee doo, mouthfeel, peppery, peregrinations, peregrine, peregrine coffee, perfect gift, philadelphia, philadelphia coffee, philadelphia coffee roaster, philadelphia coffee scene, raisin, shop, tanzania, tanzania coffee, the curious palate, toast, washington, wedding, wedding coffee, wedding gift
This coffee starts out with sweet and savory smells. Evokes a cold winter’s day late afternoon lunch of beef barley soup and cherry jam on pumpernickel toast. There are waves of flavor, including fruit and dark, bittersweet tones, with a slight black peppery edge. Reads like a Rhône. Very nice mouthfeel, almost velvety, and the finish introduces burnt raisin, with slight nuttiness, and a hint of currants. There is acidity present, but not center stage – quite dry on the finish. A superb coffee.
January 15, 2009 in tasting notes | Comments (0)
Tags: acidity, artisan coffee roasting, bespoke, bespoke coffee, bespoke coffee for the curious palate, bespoke coffee roaster, bespoke service, coffee, coffee blog, coffee cupping philadelphia, coffee roaster, coffee roasting, coffee sommelier, coffee tasting, coffee tasting parties, coffee tasting philadelphia, cup, cup of coffee, curious palate, custom roasting, dc, dulce de leche, finish, gevalia, greenwell farms, hawaii, hazelnuts, hostess gift, hostess gifts, kevin lawrence, kona, kona coffee, koo zee doo, lime, marzipan, mouthfeel, peregrine, peregrine coffee, perfect gift, philadelphia coffee, philadelphia coffee roaster, philadelphia coffee scene, pipe tobacco, saffron, shop, smooth, the curious palate, washington, wedding, wedding coffee, wedding gift
These are gorgeous beans, so large, even, and smooth, you could make jewelry from them. The coffee smells like dulce de leche, caramel with sweet nuts (marzipan and hazelnuts), mixed with sweet pipe tobacco and a slight saffron dustiness. The cup starts out with a satiny mouthfeel with great body. It is very balanced and elegant with a slight bright-lime acidity. There is a subtle, consistent, fast fading, clean, smooth finish. All the right things one expects from a great cup of coffee with no single dominant note.
January 12, 2009 in press | Comments (0)
Tags: artisan coffee roasting, bespoke, bespoke coffee, bespoke coffee for the curious palate, bespoke coffee roaster, bespoke service, chocolate, coffee, coffee blog, coffee cupping philadelphia, coffee roaster, coffee roasting, coffee sommelier, coffee tasting, coffee tasting parties, coffee tasting philadelphia, currants, custom roasting, dc, gevalia, hawaii, inauguration, kenya, kevin lawrence, koo zee doo, obama, peregrine, peregrine coffee, philadelphia, philadelphia coffee, philadelphia coffee roaster, philadelphia coffee scene, philadelphia daily news, press, shop, Street, tacony, the curious palate, toast, washington
Obama Java
From T-shirts to rap songs to sold-out Washington hotels, there’s enough commercial activity surrounding Barack Obama’s inaugural to resuscitate the economy (if it lasted more than a week).
The Peregrine Coffee Co., based in Tacony, has its own entry – a $17 Presidential Pack featuring two bags of custom-roasted coffee beans, one from an estate in Kenya, the birthplace of Obama’s father, the other from a farm in Hawaii, where Obama was born and spent most of his childhood.
The company’s owner and chief roaster is Kevin Lawrence, 40, a former marketing specialist with American Express and the Franklin Institute, who was drawn into the business after his coffee-maker died six years ago.
“First I was trying to find the best coffee pot, then I hooked up with a Web site for coffee geeks, next I found a subset of folks converting popcorn poppers into coffee roasters in their backyards,” Lawrence said. “The Internet is a dangerous thing.”
He opened Peregrine last June in a converted garage on Friendship Street, with a view of I-95. Lawrence imports raw beans from single-origin coffee farms around the world, roasts them to order for specific customers and delivers by priority mail in small batches, about half a pound, enough to sustain an average household for a week or 10 days. Any longer, he says, the coffee beans can’t be considered fresh.
“If you toast and brew it properly, it’s a totally different beverage,” said Lawrence, who compares his job to that of a wine steward, helping “clients” identify their tastes and match them to specific beans and roasts.
His analysis of the Presidential Package? The Hawaiian beans have a “chocolatey, nutty taste,” Lawrence said, while the Kenyan beans hint of grapefruit and black currants, sort of “fruity.” He denies that Republican spinmeisters have any influence on his descriptions. “Peregrine tries not to take a political stance,” he said.
Staff writers Bob Warner and Michael Hinkelman contributed to this report.
Have a news tip? Gossip? Suggestion? Contact Bob Warner at warnerb@phillynews.com, call 215-854-5885, or fax 215-854-5910.
January 11, 2009 in tasting notes | Comments (0)
Tags: acidity, aftertaste, artisan coffee roasting, bespoke, bespoke coffee, bespoke coffee for the curious palate, bespoke coffee roaster, bespoke service, chocolate, coffee, coffee blog, coffee cupping philadelphia, coffee roaster, coffee roasting, coffee sommelier, coffee tasting, coffee tasting parties, coffee tasting philadelphia, curious palate, custom roasting, dc, finish, gevalia, hawaii, hostess gift, inauguration, kevin lawrence, kona, koo zee doo, moki farm, moki's farm, obama, peregrine, peregrine coffee, peregrine espresso, philadelphia coffee, philadelphia coffee roaster, philadelphia coffee scene, shop, smooth, the curious palate, washington, wedding coffee, wedding gift
Call central casting ask for a picture perfect coffee bean and this is what you get. These are beautiful beans! The smells are sweet and spicy with buttery chocolate, cinnamon and cardamom. Once you take a sip of this, you know that it is a special coffee — it is very balanced, rich and smooth with milk chocolate, a touch of malty-musty-almonds and a citrusy-floral note. What stands out is the magical mango-juice finish: just as the slightly dry acidity passes, out jumps the mango from side-stage, joined by sweet floral tones reminding one of lavender combined with the soapy sweetness of artichoke’s aftertaste. Not just a looker, this coffee is a talented star with real depth and complexity: a rarity indeed.
January 9, 2009 in press | Comments (0)
Tags: artisan coffee roasting, bespoke, bespoke coffee, bespoke coffee for the curious palate, bespoke coffee roaster, bespoke service, coffee, coffee blog, coffee cupping philadelphia, coffee roaster, coffee roasting, coffee sommelier, coffee tasting, coffee tasting parties, coffee tasting philadelphia, curious palate, custom roasting, dc, gevalia, hostess gift, hostess gifts, keri white, kevin lawrence, koo zee doo, peregrine, peregrine coffee, peregrine espresso, philadelphia, philadelphia coffee, philadelphia coffee roaster, philadelphia coffee scene, shop, social grace, the curious palate, washington, wedding, wedding coffee, wedding gift
Thanks to our good friend at The Social Grace for thinking of us during her spot on Good Day Philadelphia.